


heck idk

by rainandasphalt



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: A-RISE - Freeform, F/F, Love Triangles, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-23 21:52:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10727970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainandasphalt/pseuds/rainandasphalt
Summary: When Umi and Maki decide to join A-RISE, the remaining 7 members of µ's struggle to come up with new songs before they face off with A-RISE in the Love Live! tournament. Lucky for them, another piano player turns up out of the blue.NOTE: Please help me think of a title, my crops are dying





	1. A Plan of Sorts

**Author's Note:**

> Maki is a ho.

Maki sighed as she played a Bb major scale on her piano. “God, I'm so bored…” she muttered to herself, then quickly checked the room to see if anyone was watching her. Of course, nobody was there, but Maki wanted to take no chances.

The truth was, Maki was just sick of µ's. She was tired of Rin and Nico’s constant teasing, disgusted by Nozomi’s stupid tarot cards, unsatisfied with Hanayo and her squeaky voice, just done with all of them in general. Not that she hated everyone, Eli and Umi were nice to her. They had deep, smooth voices and were much more mature. Maki didn't really dislike Kotori and Honoka’s constant enthusiasm, but there came a point where enough is enough. She wanted something more… _professional_. That was the word.

And who was more professional than A-RISE? Rumor had it that after graduation, they would stick together and try to get on top of the idol industry. µ's had no goals like that, after the 3rd years graduated, they would all disband. If Maki could somehow join A-RISE, she could be a school idol next year too. And then… what? What about when Tsubasa and the others graduate? Being a year younger, she would be by herself.

It was such a dumb idea, but Maki loved to plan it out anyway. She took out her notebook. Most of her friends didn't know it, but Maki’s book contained much more than scales, chords, and Umi’s lyrics. There were diary entries, rants about other members, even a few drawings of herself in the UTX uniform. She turned to a page with her plan on it, and began rereading if for probably the hundredth time.

 

   Join A-RISE

        Transfer to UTX

         Be an idol for 2 years and either

              Be forced to quit

              Drop out of 3rd year

              Somehow skip a grade

         If skip/drop out, become a professional idol

         If quit, become a doctor as my parents want

   Stay in µ's

         Stay in Otonokizaka

         Continue to be bored for the rest of the year

         Quit being an idol = become doctor

 

None of these options looked good, but Maki wanted to join A-RISE so badly. She had been considering it for so long, but it was really no more than just a fantasy. As she stared at her paper, try to find a solution, Umi burst into her room, panting and doubled over.

“Maki!” she shouted. “There you are, I've been looking all over for you. Thank god Rin saw you walk home, otherwise I'd be still searching at the school.” Umi took a deep breath and straightened up. “I have an idea for- hey, what's that?” She ripped Maki’s book straight out of her hands.

“Hey! Hey, I need that!” Maki cried out desperately. If Umi saw that page, her life was over.

Umi began to read quickly, her eyes widening as she finished. “Maki, I'm…”

Maki huffed. “Yeah yeah, you're disappointed and think I shouldn't-”

“No," Umi interrupted, turning around, “I'm glad I'm not the only one.” Her eyes settled on Maki’s

They were both speechless for a solid 10 seconds, then Maki turned away and asked “Well… What should we do?”

“I… I really don't know" Umi mumbled. Maki thought that nobody would ever help her join A-RISE, but it seemed as though Umi was after the same goal. Maki knew that Umi had been reluctant to join µ's, but still loved being an idol.

“So…” Maki hesitated “Uh, should we do it?”

Umi’s face flushed in anger. “Absolutely not!” she snapped. “That is reckless and unfair to the rest of µ's! They don't know how to write songs without the two of us. Plus they'd miss us, and we'd miss them, and…” She quickly rattled off several other reasons, but Maki wasn't paying attention anymore.

“I wouldn't miss them,” she said quietly. Wasn't that why she wanted to leave in the first place?

Umi gaped at her, opening and closing her mouth incredulously. “I-I cannot believe this!” she finally said.

Maki casual shrugged. “It's true, y’know.”

Utterly astounded, Umi just stood there. Slowly, she seemed to reach some kind of conclusion. Fearfully, she quietly asked, “So… you wouldn't miss me?”

Maki realized her mistake. “No, of course I'd miss you, I would miss Eli too actually! And maybe Honoka a little bit, but not the others. Don't worry, I don't think that about you!” Maki rambled hastily. “...So should we do it?” she added.

Umi sighed in relief and seemed to be back to her usual self. “That's a good question. If you were also a second year, I would definitely say yes. I don't want to leave for UTX without you, but I don't want you to have to stay behind when we graduate” she explained.

“Well, what if I made myself into a second year?” Maki asked. “If I hurry up and finish this year and next year online, they’ll let me skip a grade, right?”

Puzzled, Umi thought about it for a while. “Y’know, you might be right. I'm not sure how to do that, though. If we asked Eli, she would likely figure out what we were doing, and if we asked Principal Minami, she might tell Kotori, and Kotori would ask us. It seems risky… Do you think we could look it up online?” Umi wondered.

“Uh… not sure. Hang on, I've got my phone on my bed, I'll check.” Maki grabbed her fancy smartphone and opened up a web browser. “From the results, looks like it depends on the high school. Otonokizaka has a website, right?” She didn't wait for a confirmation before adding, “Pretty sure it does. Hang on…” She began typing more. “Oh… looks like I can't…” That is rather disappointing.

“Wait,” Umi said, “Check UTX’s site.”

“Umi! That's genius!” Maki began typing again. “Yep! I can totally skip a grade if I transfer to UTX.” Maki grinned as she said this. Umi smiled too, glad there was a solution.

“Oh, I think I should leave now” Umi realized.

The two friends walked out together, waving goodbye and promising to sort out the details through text.


	2. Late-Night Texting

Maki turned on her phone to check her texts. There were 23 from Rin, but none from Umi. “Guess Umi’s family is still eating dinner.”

She decided to leave a text so that they could talk when Umi was done.

**Maki: hey when r we gonna transfer 2 utx**

Good enough, she thought.

After 6 minutes and 34 seconds of staring at the clock, Maki’s phone beeped.

**Umi: Sometime this year**

Maki smiled. This is good, they could plan better now through text.

**Maki: in like a week or a month?**

**Umi: idk**

**Maki: estim8**

**Umi: Maybe 2 weeks**

**Maki: ok thats fair**

**Maki: lol why do u type so formally**

**Umi: It's not that formal, I said “idk”**

**Maki: lol whatever u say**

Umi doesn't stop being mature, even in private conversation. Maki felt very proud to have such a sophisticated friend.

**Umi: Wait, just had a thought**

**Umi: What if A-RISE doesnt want us??**

**Umi: If we tell the rest of u’s we're abandoning them then we can't join A-RISE, Honoka probably won't let us come back**

Maki’s sense of happiness suddenly vanished.

**Maki: o god u right**

**Umi: What should we do?**

**Maki: maybe lets ask a rise**

**Maki: hang on i got tsubasas number somewhere**

**Umi: Put a dash between A and RISE**

**Maki: found it, texting her rn**

Maki trembled a bit as she tried to write out a message to Tsubasa. Should she write it in proper grammar, or just normal text speech? Proper grammar may impress Tsubasa, but it may come off as a superior rich girl attitude. Then again, slang was a bit childish. She decided on proper grammar.

**Maki: Hello, Kira Tsubasa. I am Nishikino Maki, the songwriter and pianist of µ's. I am wondering if you are interested in Sonoda Umi, the lyricist, and I joining A-RISE. I am planning on skipping a year so we can all graduate at the same time, but if you turn us down, we understand.**

Heart beating quickly, Maki waited for a response.

**Tsubasa: hehe proper gramr wooow~~ fancy**

**Maki: o lol i didnt no 2 do slang or grammar**

**Maki: umi luvs gramr**

**Tsubasa: tsok dude**

**Maki: ty haha so can we join**

**Tsubasa: this aint a joke rite**

**Maki: no im totally serious i h8 u’s**

**Maki: umi n i wanted to make sure ud accept us b4 telling honoka**

**Tsubasa: im ok w u 2 joinin but idk about erena shes kinda touchy lol**

**Maki: o ok well wut about anju**

**Tsubasa: usually shes chill she’ll b ok**

This was all going very well. Maki decided to text Umi about what just happened.

**Maki: lol tsubasa said ya but shes asking toudou**

**Maki: apparently shes rly uptite or sthn**

**Umi: That's good! I'll ask my mom if I can transfer**

**Maki: k bye syl**

Tsubasa had sent another text in the meantime, so Maki switched back to her chat.

**Tsubasa: erenas not sure but she seems ok 4 now**

**Maki: AYYY NICE**

**Tsubasa: AYYY**

**Maki: AYYY**

**Tsubasa: we gonna be gr8 friends lol**

**Maki: lol**

**Maki: gn**

Maki was getting pretty tired, it was already about 11pm. She decided that sleeping was probably a good idea.


	3. Realization

“One, two! One, two!" Umi chanted while clapping her hands in time. The group was doing a run through of the choreography they would use in the Love Live!. “Nico, you're early! Go a little slower.”

Nico huffed. “I'm not fast, every else is slow! I'm on time, nico nii~"

“That may be, but we need to be together, even if we're behind as a group" Umi explained. Why did Nico have to be like this?

“Fine, Umi… If you insist.” Nico glared at her, and Maki suddenly felt very angry. She was a bit worried that Nico might do something bad to Umi.Even so, she just shook it off. The two of them would be leaving soon… together… Maki began to daydream about what her new life would be like, because she essentially was forming a new life. This sort of thing seemed beyond the rules of the world, and Maki felt a sense of pride in knowing she had broken those rules.

“Alright! Break time!” Umi shouted. “Grab your water and rest up, but don't get too comfy, we still have an hour left!”

“Aww, Umiiiiiii why can't we leave practice early?” Honoka moaned. “I’m so tired, I had to do so much today.”

“What did you have to do, nya?” Rin asked, while simultaneously trying to take some of Honoka’s bread.

“Well, I had to wake up, then I went to school, and I only had 2 snacks after school!” Honoka complained. “And now practice… I hate doing things!”

“Wow, that sounds like a lot, nya! I had to do a lot of those things too, but I didn't get snacks, nya” Rin replied, cheerful as always.

Maki quietly sat and watched this happen, deciding that she wouldn't miss Honoka and her laziness after all.

She wasn't really close to Kotori, so Maki didn't know whether or not she’d miss her, but Eli was the only one in µ's she would really miss. One person isn't a lot when it came to Maki’s dreams. It was Eli vs Umi and Tsubasa, and Maki barely had to think before making a decision. She realized something that had always been in the back of her mind, something that was almost there but never occurred to her: Maki hated µ's. Everything about it, and she loved A-RISE.


	4. Duet

The next hour went by quickly, and practice was over now. Umi ran over to Maki. “Hey, let's go to the piano room to work on that new song,” Umi said, and winked.

“O-oh, good idea!” Maki replied, trying her best to play along.

“Uwaah Umi’s writing a song??? What will it be, nya!?” Rin asked excitedly.

Umi smiled and patted Rin on the head. “It's called Yume no Tobira. You get to be in the center when it's lily white’s turn to sing in the verses. Actually, Hanayo’s in the center for Printemps. I might be able to work in a duet part for the both of you."

“Yay~ I would love to sing with Kayochin, nya. Oh, Nico and Kayochin! Wait for me, nya!” Rin dashed off to follow Hanayo and Nico.

Umi chuckled a bit. “That kid never calms down…”

“Ugh, she's so annoying” Maki griped. “Does she ever shut up?”

“Really? I think it’s kinda cute, actually. “

They started to walk down to the piano room together. When they got inside, Maki inquired “So was what you told Rin real? You've written new lyrics?”

“Yeah, and actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about yesterday. Of course, that's changed now, but we can still work on the song together. We'll just switch the parts from µ's members to us and other A-RISE members” Umi answered.

Us and the other A-RISE members… Umi was already talking about A-RISE like they were part of it. Maki felt a shudder of anticipation shoot through her body.

“Kira sounds kinda like a cross between Eli and Honoka, so we'll give her their parts… Anju would work for Kotori and Nico I think, and Toudou’s voice is pretty deep, so i actually don't know who she can fill in for. Maybe Rin? Yeah, that seems good” Umi continued enthusiastically. “So we'll have to split Hanayo and Nozomi between the 2 of us and Toudou, given we stick with our original parts.”

“Wait, I need to draw a diagram for that.” Maki opened her book and on the other side of her future plan sheet, started to write.

 

    Honoka         Tsubasa

    Kotori            Yuuki

    Hanayo         ?

    Umi               Umi

    Rin                Erena

    Nozomi         ?

    me                me

    Nico              Yuuki

    Eli                 Tsubasa

 

Maki nodded. “I think I got it.”

Just then, Makis phone beeped. “Who’s that?” Umi asked.

“Uh… “ It was probably Tsubasa, but Maki didn't wanna say that, for some reason. She felt like it would agitate Umi. “I dunno.”

Umi took her phone. “It’s Tsubasa…” she muttered. Jeez, why was she always so grabby? “Alright, we can write more songs in the future. We both have solo songs, we can sing them and maybe write solos for the rest of the group. Any other ideas?” Umi asked politely.

Slowly, a thought was occurring to Maki. She had a wonderful idea- something that could help change the past and shape the future into what she wanted. Hesitantly, Maki answered “Zurui yo Magnetic Today.”

That surprised Umi quite a bit. “Oh!” she said “What do you mean? You sing that with Nico, and you hate her and she's not even coming with us.”

“I…” Maki coughed “I want to sing it with Tsubasa.”

Umi tilted her head, looking like a confused little bird. It was an expression more suited for Kotori, but it was still very cute.

Maki blushed and started to panic a bit. “Um… I mean, it would help me think of that song in a better light. It's something I used to dread having to sing, but it isn't a bad song. I think I would be happy to sing it if Tsubasa sang Nico’s part… “ She decided to leave out the fact that she just mostly wanted any duet with Tsubasa. Beat in Angel would probably work too, but she didn't want to risk Rin singing it as a solo. Zurui yo Magnetic Today was clearly a duet, so there was no chance of Nico singing it as a solo. Who would want to run away from themself? Only an edgy 12 year old emo kid on Google+ probably. But Maki wouldn't be surprised if Nico used Google+ unironically.

“Alright.” Umi replied. Her tone had changed a bit, but Maki couldn't tell quite what it was. She decided not to let it bother her.

“If that's it, then should we work on Yume no Tobira now?” Maki asked, curiously.

“Yeah, sounds good” Umi mumbled.

They worked on the song for a few hours, then decided it was getting late. The two composers walked home together.

When they arrived in front of Umi’s house, Maki waved goodbye and continued to walk. As she crossed the street, she heard her phone beep again. Maki took her phone out of her bag as soon as she reached the opposing sidewalk.

**Tsubasa: hey m8**

**Tsubasa: yo kid**

**Maki: lol what's up**

**Tsubasa: you got a plan yet?**

**Maki: yeah, but it's a surprise ;)**

**Tsubasa: OMG TELL ME!!!!!!!**

**Maki: syl**

**Tsubasa: NOOOOOO**

Maki laughed. Tsubasa was so cute. Today had been wonderful, and tomorrow would be even better.


End file.
